On March 21, 2007, a public and private Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity was launched. The group, comprised of participants such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society for Nutrition, Kellogg Company, McDonald's, Sesame Workshop, Walt Disney Company, Discovery Channel and Parents Television Council—to name just a few--will meet throughout 2007 to examine the impact of media and advertising on children's health and make recommendations regarding goals for public and private sectors to help to reduce childhood obesity.
Kids today are bombarded with marketing everywhere they go. They see advertisements on the radio, TV and the Internet, in magazines, on school buses, and even in the classroom through news programs produced for schools. In fact, child-targeted advertisement exceeds $15 billion per year. Most of the food advertisements are for fast foods, breakfast cereals, snacks and candies that are high in sugar, salt and fat and nutritionally inadequate.
Marketers are increasingly sneaky in their efforts to establish brand loyalty from birth. Using licensed TV and film characters such as Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues and SpongeBob Squarepants, they hawk everything from sugary cereals, breakfast foods, and yogurt to fatty macaroni and cheese selections. Even games and toys, such as Coca-Cola Barbie and McDonald's Play-Doh, and books such as the M&M's Brand Counting Book, are junk food advertisements in disguise.
Marketers exploit children by appealing to their vulnerabilities. Children under the age of 8 have difficulty distinguishing between programming and advertisements, and even if they do recognize an advertisement, they do not understand the intent of advertising to persuade. An example is a program appeal for children to eat a healthy breakfast followed closely by an advertisement for sugary cereal, with the implication that this particular cereal is a healthy breakfast.
Older children are attracted by a product's social appeal—such as that of Pepsi, which targets their drinks to adolescent and young adult consumers, who enjoy entertainment, music and sports. An emotional connection to Pepsi brand is increased by visiting their website which has interactive functions, including downloads and online games.
Marketers go for the jugular by using parents and educators, too. Pizza Hut's BOOK IT! Program offers gift certificates for a personal pan pizza for reading books—a pizza loaded with calories and with enough fat for an entire day for a 5 year old child.
While the whole food advertising industry seems like an obvious appeal to children's lack of nutrition knowledge, ask any parent who has dealt with a child screaming in a shopping cart for the latest sugary cereal what he or she ended up buying. It is estimated that children under 12 influence as much as $500 billion in purchases each year!
How can parents help their children to withstand food advertising? Here are some ideas: